Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended its ban on the use of its airspace by Indian-registered aircraft, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Wednesday. According to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PAA, the restriction will remain in force from Dec. 25, 2025 to Jan. 23, 2026. The ban applies to all Indian-owned and operated aircraft, including those leased from other countries, as well as Indian military flights. Pakistan first imposed the airspace restriction in April amid heightened tensions with India and has since extended it multiple times. The latest escalation followed an April 22 attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 people, most of them tourists. The continued airspace ban has resulted in significant financial losses for Indian airlines, which are being forced to take longer alternative routes.&nbsp; These diversions have increased flight times and fuel costs for services between India and destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.&nbsp;

Foreign Affairs

Restrictions apply to all Indian-owned and operated aircraft, including those leased from other countries, as well as military flights.

Pakistan extends airspace ban on Indian aircraft

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of $100 million in November 2025, reversing a deficit of $291 million in October, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Wednesday.&nbsp;The surplus contrasts with $709 million recorded in the same month last year.&nbsp;In November, Pakistan&rsquo;s total exports of goods and services stood at $3.09 billion, down over 10 percent from $3.44 billion in October. Meanwhile, total imports fell to $5.68 billion, a nearly 12 percent decline from the previous month.&nbsp;Workers&rsquo; remittances remained strong at $3.19 billion, although slightly lower than $3.42 billion in October.&nbsp;For the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY26), Pakistan recorded a cumulative current account deficit of $812 million, compared with a surplus of $503 million in the same period last year.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves rose to $14.68 billion, up 21 percent year-on-year, indicating improved external buffers despite ongoing structural pressures.

Economy

The surplus follows a defecit of $291 million in October 2025.

Pakistan posts $100 million current account surplus in November

LONDON: The UK government on Wednesday said it was focused on resuming talks promptly after the United States suspended implementation of a tech cooperation deal with Britain. The deal was signed during US President Donald Trump&#39;s pomp-filled state visit to the UK in September. But on Tuesday Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said on X that the UK must make &quot;substantial progress&quot; on trade talks for the deal to resume. The US and UK have been trying to implement the &quot;Economic Prosperity Deal,&quot; agreed in May and one of the first international agreements signed after Trump threatened the world with punishing tariffs on goods entering the United States. The US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal agreed in September 2025 was a non-binding agreement to sit alongside the broader Economic Prosperity Deal. It was designed to align the two countries on tech innovation while spurring mostly private-sector investment. Following the White House announcement, a UK government spokesperson said: &quot;We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as possible... and working together to help shape the emerging technologies of the future.&quot; Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle held trade talks with US counterparts in Washington DC last week to progress the Economic Prosperity Deal, the spokesperson said. &quot;They celebrated the success of the recent pharma deal and both sides agreed to continue further negotiations next year.&quot; According to the Financial Times, US officials have become increasingly frustrated with Britain&#39;s lack of willingness to address non-tariff barriers, including rules and regulations governing food and industrial goods.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and US President Donald Trump (L) show off their signed technology prosperity deal at a Business event at Chequers, in Aylesbury, central England, on September 18, 2025 (AFP/File)

Americas

United Kingdom

UK seeks to revive tech cooperation after the United States suspended a non-binding deal, tying its return to trade progress, as talks continue amid US frustration over UK non-tariff barriers.

UK seeks to revive tech cooperation after the United States suspended a non-binding deal, tying its return to trade progress, as talks continue amid US frustration over UK non-tariff barriers.


UK looks to restart cooperation after US suspends tech deal

PARIS: Global coal consumption is expected to hit a record in 2025, the IEA said Wednesday, thanks in part to policy measures introduced by the Trump administration to boost the industry. In its annual report on the coal industry, the International Energy Agency said demand was on course to rise by 0.5 percent this year to hit a record 8.85 billion tonnes, although demand is expected to decline over the rest of the decade as rival generation options multiply. China and India are usually the main drivers of growth in coal consumption as the two emerging economies race to meet rising demand for electricity. But demand for coal, which is the main contributor to climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions from human sources, held steady in China and fell in India. The IEA sees demand in China, the top coal-consuming nation, decreasing somewhat over the next five years. In India, an early and intense monsoon season gave a boost to hydropower and reduced demand for electricity produced from coal-fired power plants for only the third time in five decades, the IEA said. However, &ldquo;strong policy support for coal in the United States ... helped lift coal demand there in 2025,&rdquo; the IEA said. It said US consumption is poised to increase by eight percent in 2025 amid a combination of higher natural gas prices and a slowdown in the retirement of coal plants due to policy support led by the federal government. That contrasts with an average drop of six percent per year over the past 15 years. President Donald Trump in April signed measures to &ldquo;turbocharge coal mining&rdquo; in the United States and more than double electricity production to keep up with power-hungry artificial intelligence technology. However, the IEA said it still expects US coal demand to decline by six percent per year on average through 2030, as renewable power generation grows and coal plants are taken offline, albeit at a slower pace than previously expected. Higher-than-forecast electricity demand or slower coal plant retirements could slow the decline in US coal use, as could the price of natural gas, another fuel used to generate electricity. Globally, the IEA sees coal demand in 2030 easing by three percent compared with 2025, with strong growth in electricity use supporting coal use. &ldquo;But competition with other power sources is also set to intensify, with renewable capacity surging, nuclear expanding steadily, and a wave of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arriving on the market,&rdquo; it said. Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA&rsquo;s director for energy markets and security, noted that coal&rsquo;s share in power generation continues to decline. &ldquo;In 2013, it was 41 percent, and in 2025 we expect it to be around 34 percent,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s the lowest in the IEA&rsquo;s history of statistics.&rdquo; The Paris-based IEA advises its 32 energy-consuming member countries on energy policy and monitors market developments.

Pickaxes lie on a bed of coal fragments near the entrance of the Golfview informal coal mine in Ermelo on September 25, 2025.

Middle East

Asia

Europe

Australasia

China

Global coal consumption is expected to hit a record in 2025, the IEA said Wednesday, thanks in part to policy measures introduced by the Trump administration to boost the industry.

Global coal demand expected to hit record in 2025: International Energy Agency

ISLAMABAD: Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to strengthen and expand the India-Israel strategic partnership across technology, economy, security, and regional cooperation, according to the minister&rsquo;s post on X on Wednesday. The Indian minister held high-level meetings to strengthen India-Israel&#39;s strategic partnership. The two leaders discussed expanding cooperation in technology, the economy, skills and talent, connectivity, and security, with Jaishankar expressing confidence that the partnership would grow from strength to strength. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2001013884191433092&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=741e82a8fe7a6c467c50d8877f20d6ee6f0f8d0d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 696px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Earlier, Jaishankar met President Isaac Herzog to convey greetings from Indian president Droupadi Murmu and prime minister Modi and to reaffirm India&rsquo;s support for enduring regional peace. He also met Israel&rsquo;s Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, to advance investment and innovation cooperation, and expressed confidence in the early conclusion of the India-Israel Free Trade Agreement. In a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa&rsquo;ar, Jaishankar discussed terrorism, regional developments, and the Gaza Peace Plan, reiterating India&rsquo;s commitment to combating terrorism and strengthening strategic ties across multiple domains. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa&rsquo;ar, also visited India last month. According to an Indian media report, the visit comes amid preparations for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu&rsquo;s proposed trip to India.&nbsp; Netanyahu was scheduled to travel to India earlier this month, but a phone call between him and prime minister Modi made it clear the visit would take place at a later date. Bilateral investment agreement&nbsp;Delhi and Tel Aviv signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) in New Delhi on Sept. 8 during the Israeli finance minister&#39;s visit to India. According to India&rsquo;s state-run Press Information Bureau, the agreement is expected to provide greater certainty and protection for investors, facilitate the growth of trade and mutual investments by ensuring a minimum standard of treatment, and provide an independent dispute resolution mechanism through arbitration. India-Israel defense ties&nbsp;A meeting on defense cooperation, co-chaired by Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram, took place in Tel Aviv on Nov. 4, according to PIB. An MoU on defense cooperation was signed during the meeting to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen the already strong defense cooperation between the two countries, it said.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to a Nov. 13 report published by a Washington-based think tank, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, in a deal reported last month to be worth $3.3 billion, the Indian Army is acquiring 425,000 carbine assault rifles from a joint Israeli-Indian venture. Pakistan-India conflict&nbsp;During the conflict with India, on May 8, the Pakistani military reported shooting down 25 Israeli-made drones used by India against Islamabad. &nbsp; &ldquo;The Pakistan Army, using their soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weapons) skills fully, has shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones,&rdquo; Pakistan military&rsquo;s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a press release issued on May 8.

India

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has held meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog, and key ministers; discussions focused on strengthening strategic, economic, technological, and security partnerships, and finalizing a free trade agreement.

India seeks to deepen strategic partnership with Israel

MANILA: The Philippines said Wednesday there was no evidence that the country was being used for terrorist training, a day after it was revealed the men behind Australia&#39;s Bondi Beach mass shooting had spent November on a southern island known for Islamist insurgencies.&nbsp;&quot;(President Ferdinand Marcos) strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as the ISIS training hotspot,&quot; presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro said at a press briefing.&nbsp;&quot;No evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training,&quot; she added, reading from a National Security Council statement.&nbsp;&quot;There is no validated report or confirmation that individuals involved in the Bondi Beach incident received any form of training in the Philippines.&quot;&nbsp;On Tuesday, the country&#39;s immigration office confirmed that Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, who killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney&#39;s Bondi Beach, entered the country on November 1 headed for the southern province of Davao.&nbsp;The island of Mindanao, where Davao is located, has a long history of Islamist insurgencies against central government rule.&nbsp;Australian authorities are investigating whether the two men met with extremists during the trip.&nbsp;The Philippine military, however, said Wednesday that armed Muslim groups still operating on Mindanao had been largely degraded in the years since the siege of Marawi.&nbsp;The five-month battle for the city that pitted government forces against pro-Islamic State Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.&nbsp;&quot;We have not recorded any major terrorist operations or training activities &hellip; since the beginning of 2024,&quot; Philippine military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Padilla said at a morning press briefing.&nbsp;&quot;They are fragmented, and they have no leadership,&quot; she added of the insurgent groups.&nbsp;Colonel Xerxes Trinidad told reporters the father-and-son duo&#39;s November trip to the Philippines would not have provided adequate time for significant training.&nbsp;&quot;Training cannot be acquired in just 30 days ... especially if you are to undergo marksmanship (training),&quot; he said.&nbsp;But Rommel Banlaoi, a Manila-based security analyst, told AFP that while many insurgent groups were &quot;on the run,&quot; they were far from eradicated.&nbsp;&quot;There are still many active training camps in (central) Mindanao. Those did not disappear,&quot; he told AFP, adding even weakened insurgent movements maintained connections &quot;locally and globally online.&quot;

Australian authorities are investigating whether the two gunmen met with extremists during their Philippines trip.

Philippines says no evidence of 'terrorist training' after Bondi gunmen's visit

ISLAMABAD: Meta has begun deprecating the desktop version of its Messenger app, confirming that users on Windows and Mac computers will no longer be able to access the service through a standalone application.&nbsp;According to Meta, the Messenger app for Windows is being phased out as part of a deprecation process. Once the process is complete, users will no longer be able to log into the app and will be automatically redirected to use Facebook&rsquo;s desktop platform or the web-based version of Messenger for messaging.&nbsp;Meta said users can continue all their conversations through Facebook&rsquo;s desktop app or web platforms, with the same features previously available on the Messenger desktop app, including desktop calling.&nbsp;Will users be notified about the change?Meta said users of the Messenger desktop app will receive in-app notifications once the deprecation process begins.&nbsp;Users will have 60 days to continue using the Messenger desktop app before it is fully disabled. After the 60-day period, access to the app will be blocked.&nbsp;&ldquo;We encourage you to delete the app since it will no longer be usable,&rdquo; Meta said in its Help Center guidance.&nbsp;When did the app become unavailable?While Meta has not publicly announced a specific shutdown date, media reports, including by TechCrunch, indicate that the Messenger desktop app became unavailable earlier this week.&nbsp;Attempts to download the Windows version now redirect users to Facebook.com or Messenger.com. Meta has not provided an official explanation for discontinuing the standalone desktop app.&nbsp;Will chat history be saved?Meta has assured users that their chat history will remain intact, provided certain steps are followed.&nbsp;Users who have not enabled secure storage in Messenger are advised to turn it on and set up a PIN through the desktop app before transitioning to the web version. Once secure storage is enabled, chat history will be accessible across platforms after logging into Facebook.com or Messenger.com.&nbsp;Meta said users can check secure storage by navigating to Settings, then Privacy &amp; Safety, followed by End-to-end encrypted chats, and Message storage.&nbsp;What about Messenger-only users?Meta clarified that users who use Messenger without a Facebook account will continue to have access to the service.&nbsp;Such users will be redirected to Messenger.com, where they can log in without creating a Facebook profile.&nbsp;The change affects only users who relied on the standalone Messenger application on desktop computers. Messenger will remain available through web browsers and on mobile devices.

Gadgets

According to Meta, the Messenger app for Windows is being phased out as part of a deprecation process.

Meta discontinues Messenger app for Windows and Mac

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will roll out a locally developed secure messaging application, Beep, for government employees in the coming months, officials told a National Assembly standing committee on Tuesday. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed that the application, designed for official communications, is in the final stages of preparation and will be launched in phases, beginning with federal ministries and attached departments. The app was initially launched on a trial basis in August 2023 by the former Information Technology Minister Syed Aminul Haque, who now serves as chairman of the National Assembly IT and Telecom Committee. During the meeting, Haque allocated time to the National Information Technology Board to discuss and ensure the timely rollout of the application. National Information Technology Board Chief Executive Faisal Iqbal Ratyal told the committee that Beep had been developed locally and certified by relevant government agencies for official use. He said the application was inspired by the Chinese platform WeChat and was designed to meet the government&rsquo;s security and operational requirements. Ratyal said the rollout would begin within the next two months and that Beep would be integrated with Pakistan&rsquo;s federal e-Office system. The integration is intended to allow secure messaging, document sharing and workflow coordination within government institutions. According to Ratyal, the application will offer end-to-end encryption for text messages and video calls used by government officials. He said additional security features had been incorporated to strengthen encryption standards and make the platform suitable for sensitive discussions. The committee was also informed that the National Computer Emergency Response Team had formally cleared the application for official deployment. Officials noted that WhatsApp, owned by Meta, remains the most widely used platform for communication and media sharing, but its data servers are located outside Pakistan. They said Beep&rsquo;s servers would be based within the country and would operate under stricter security safeguards. The committee was further briefed that the federal e-Office system was introduced to reduce paperwork and improve transparency, and that integrating Beep was expected to strengthen internal coordination and reduce operational risks.

File Photo - Beep website on a laptop screen (Canva)

Security

Pakistan will roll out a locally developed secure messaging application, Beep, for government employees in the coming months, officials told a National Assembly standing committee on Tuesday.

Pakistan to roll out 'Beep' messaging app for government officials

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday expressed anger at senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for his remarks on the Indian Air Force and Operation Sindoor, saying that the Congress party &ldquo;hates Indian armed forces.&rdquo; Chavan, speaking in Marathi, was addressing a meeting of his party workers in Pune, where he also questioned the need to maintain large military forces, saying wars would be fought in the air. &lsquo;We were completely defeated&rsquo;&nbsp;On Operation Sindoor, he was quoted as saying: &ldquo;On the very first day, we faced a complete defeat. On the 7th (May), during an aerial battle that lasted only half an hour, we were completely defeated, whether one accepts it or not. On that day, Indian aircraft were shot down, and the entire Indian Air Force was grounded. After that, not a single aircraft flew, because wherever a plane took off, whether from Gwalior, Bathinda, or Sirsa, there was a high risk of it being shot down by Pakistan. For this reason, our entire Air Force was grounded&hellip;&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2000928800410837083&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=10c89db9e0c826dff6ae4ba2de6d82a467037389&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 624px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Responding, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla criticized Chavan&rsquo;s &ldquo;shocking controversial statements&rdquo; and said, &ldquo;Congress hates Indian Armed Forces. Sena ka apman is Congress ki pehchan [Insulting the army is Congress&rsquo;s identity],&rdquo; he posted on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2000917025733111969&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=10c89db9e0c826dff6ae4ba2de6d82a467037389&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 744px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Further criticizing the Congress leader in his post, he said: &ldquo;From Sadak ka gunda [street thug] to doubting Sindoor/Surgical Strike/Balakote and even Op Mahadev.&rdquo;

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson calls Congress leader ‘Sadak ka gunda’ (street thug) and accuses the opposition party of ‘insulting the Indian army’ for saying India was ‘completely defeated’ in the May conflict with Pakistan.

Congress ‘hates Indian Armed Forces’: BJP incensed by opposition’s criticism of Operation Sindoor

NEW YORK: FBI experts on Tuesday combed through the vicinity of a weekend mass shooting that killed two students at the elite Brown University, as the hunt for the gunman dragged into a fourth day.&nbsp;Images posted by the bureau on social media showed laboratory specialists and evidence response teams conducting a forensic search on the snow-covered grounds outside the Providence, Rhode Island campus.&nbsp;The shooting happened Saturday, when a man with a rifle burst into a campus building where exams were underway and opened fire, before fleeing.&nbsp;Providence officials screened a new video timeline at a briefing Tuesday which appeared to show the person of interest walking through residential areas in the town.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s enhanced video footage so we are asking the public to see the body movements, the body posture... that may help you identify this individual,&quot; said the town&#39;s police chief colonel, Oscar Perez.&nbsp;Perez renewed his appeal for members of the public with homes and vehicles equipped with cameras to supply footage to the police.&nbsp;Two-hundred actionable tips had been received by investigators, he added.&nbsp;Authorities initially detained a man in connection with the shooting, but they later released him, saying he was unconnected.&nbsp;The FBI, which is offering a $50,000 reward for the suspect&#39;s capture, said he should be considered &quot;armed and dangerous&quot; and described him as &quot;approximately 5 foot 8 inches with a stocky build.&quot;&nbsp;On Tuesday, Brown University called on its students who may have been in the area of the shooting Saturday to arrange for a police interview.&nbsp;Later in the day, it also issued a statement, denouncing &quot;accusations, speculation and conspiracies&quot; voiced on social media against one of its students.&nbsp;&quot;If this individual&#39;s name had any relevance to the current investigation, they would be actively looking for this individual and providing information publicly,&quot; the school said.&nbsp;Tributes to victimsThe two students killed were Ella Cook, vice president of Brown&#39;s Republican Party association, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, originally from Uzbekistan, who had hoped to become a neurosurgeon.&nbsp;&quot;Ella, who came to Brown from Mountain Brook, Alabama, was a passionate and intellectually curious member of our community who was interested in French and Francophone studies,&quot; Brown president Christina H. Paxson said.&nbsp;&quot;Mukhammad... was known for being driven, conscientious and disciplined, particularly as he pursued his deep ambition to make a positive impact in the world by becoming a neurosurgeon.&quot;&nbsp;The attack is the latest incident of mass shooting in the United States, where attempts to restrict access to firearms face political deadlock.&nbsp;There have been more than 300 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot.&nbsp;During a Christmas event Sunday at the White House, US President Donald Trump spoke briefly about the shooting, saying &quot;things can happen&quot; and wishing the injured to &quot;get well fast.&quot;&nbsp;Brown, which has around 11,000 students, issued an emergency alert on Saturday following reports of a shooting near its engineering and physics departments. Two exams had been scheduled at the time.

Images posted by the bureau on social media showed laboratory specialists and evidence response teams conducting a forensic search on the snow-covered grounds outside the Providence, Rhode Island campus.

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